President Volodymyr Zelenskiy believes that United States President-elect Joe Biden could contribute to the process of the Normandy Four negotiations after he takes office.
"The situation is terrible, so I can fairly say that Donbas is dying without Ukraine," Zelensky told the New York Times, according to his press service, which posted on its website the Ukrainian translation of the interview.
"Therefore, I believe that the United States could have great influence. I believe that President Biden could strengthen our negotiations in the Normandy format, including because he understands well the issues of Ukraine and Russia," Zelensky added.
"Secondly, he spoke about security in Europe, and, thirdly, we believe that it's not enough anymore to talk simply about putting the war to an end. What should be done next? We need reintegration of Donbas," Zelensky said.
He added that reintegration requires "strong businesses, strong technology, security, and money." "And we envisage a free economic zone in the territory of Donbas, so that there are certain preferences for businesses to come in. And here the United States could play a key role," the president noted.
Read alsoUkraine not to give up path toward NATO in exchange for peace with RussiaHe added that the United States today is the guarantor of global security and a major strategic player, "therefore, such steps could sooner bring the end to the war in Donbas and lead to the start of large-scale construction, large-scale reintegration of Donbas."
Also, Zelensky says, the United States cannot do without in the Crimea issue.
"Now we are creating the Crimean Platform and, of course, we would like to see in it those countries that will be key players, key guarantors of the return and the end of occupation of Crimea. The return of Crimea and our territorial integrity. And the United States could be a leader on this path," he said.
